


I Ship It

by Toryb



Series: Tumblr Meet Cute [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Adulthood, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Social Media, They are very ridiculous children, Tumblr AU, donniedarkno returns, just fluff, marriage proposals, only fluff here, whom I love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 16:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16747906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toryb/pseuds/Toryb
Summary: A Sequel to Whats in a Name? where Jughead can't figure out how to get Betty to change her's to Jones.





	I Ship It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katieeeeexx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katieeeeexx/gifts).



> Happy birthday and endless love to my favorite human being @betty-cooper aka Katie whom I adore endlessly and I wish the happiest of birthdays to. If it isn't happy, I will personally punch it for you.
> 
> I had a few people who asked for a sequel of this so I hope you all enjoy it <3

They’ve been dating for four years. It’s the longest relationship either of them have ever had and it’s all thanks to a silly app called Tumblr.com. Betty is finishing up her degree in journalism at OSU and is just thirteen days from walking down the isle — summa cum laude, of course — to collect her well-earned degree. Jughead has another book deal in the works. But perhaps their favorite accomplishment is the fact that they have together reached a startling 30k followers, despite the fact that his identity is still mostly a secret and they spend all day either reblogging things they’ve tagged each other in or launching into philosophical debates to engage their followers.

 

Betty has been invited to no less than three Discord servers about FP Jones the Third and it’s a very surreal experience for her. The first time it happened, Jughead was almost offended she hadn’t accepted.

 

_ “But you could keep an eye out for creepiness!” _

 

_ She rolled her eyes. “There’s already creepiness. Jughead, do you know how many times I’ve been around people in your fandom? It’s very weird to have them speculate on your morning routine when I have to live it with you.” _

 

_ “Do you ever leave them any breadcrumbs?” _

 

_ “I may or may not have once mentioned that I headcanon you sleeping in Pink Panther boxers.” _

 

_ He gasped, pulling her close and kissing the curve of her neck with a delighted smile. “You little minx. I believed you when you promised that would be our little secret.” _

 

_ “If it helps, no one believed me. They all insisted you were much too cool and glamorous for all that. If only they knew you were an iconic shitposter who plays Fortnite with his best friend on weekends until he’s practically got a shirt made of cheeto dust on him. Sometimes I wonder if you’re really an adult.” _

 

_ “I mean, like, no, but that’s what I have you around for. Someone has to be a responsible member of society in this house.” _

 

One might call their life the epitome of domestic bliss. There’s just one glaring little problem, and it’s the fact that Jughead has a wedding ring in his back pocket and no idea what to do with it. Well, in theory he knows what to do with it. He’s supposed to get down on one knee and ask the love of his life to consider spending the rest of her life with him. It’s easy. In theory. Which is why he’d gone and bought the ring.

 

In practice, however, the very thought of dropping to his knee has made him sick on multiple occasions. He’s sure she’s starting to get suspicious about all there well-planned dates and intricate outings. Just last week when they were out ice skating he could see her eyes go wide and her fingers twitch when he’d reached into his back pocket only to pull out a pair of gloves for her to wear. She is starting to get frustrated. Not that he can blame her. He’s pretty frustrated, too. This dancing is getting ridiculous and he constantly feels like an idiot. (Probably because he is an idiot, too afraid of messing things up that he’s now dredging up a slew of other issues instead.)

 

Archie is as encouraging as ever, or at least as least to the best of his ability. He sat and listened to every failed plan and helped Jughead concoct newer, better, grander ones. But the truth was, Jughead was running out of time. After graduation, things were going to get infinitely busier for the both of them. Betty’s poetry was finally getting recognized, ending up in a few high profile literary journals and on the radar of some interesting people, and she was scheduled to start meeting with publishers about a collection. Not to mention she’s going to grad school. He is infinitely proud of her, infinitely in love, and infinitely aware of the fact that it is starting to become “now or never” in terms of his proposal timeline.

 

But nothing feels right. It isn’t personal enough. Sure, she appreciates the grand gestures and the sweet carriage rides, but they aren’t them. The proposal haven’t screamed “Betty and Jughead are getting married.”

 

So he’s done something incredibly stupid and he knows it’s either going to cost him the love of his life or make him the happiest man in the world if she agrees to a ceremony he hopes will symbolize their eternal commitment to one another. Either way, no more limbo.

 

He has made a Tumblr post.

 

No one knows about it. It’s been sitting in his drafts for weeks like all the rest of his half-baked ideas, but he’s finally going to pull through and actually do this. Hopefully. Probably. No, definitely.

 

God, let’s hope he doesn’t royally fuck this one up.

 

/////////

 

Betty’s sitting in their living room, her hair tied up in a bun, idolly scrolling through her dashboard and reblogging aesthetics and posts about his books. Her mind is too numb to dare any meta commentary, even though there are three asks in her inbox looking for it on FP Jones the Third’s latest teaser release. She knows where the teasers are headed, so she tries to give some information without making it obvious she’s in cahoots with the author. There’s a separate ask that says “why don’t you just go fuck your author you obvious want and leave J to someone who actually cares about him.” Normally she would just delete the hate, but she knows Jughead is going to want to say his piece on it because the situation is borderline ridiculous. The last time it happened, he’d reblogged with a simple, “I’d let her,” and the conversation died quickly. She’s sure he’ll think up something much more extravagant this time, but she’s neither in the mood nor the right headspace to write a proper clap back.

 

Jughead’s been busying himself in the kitchen all day, refusing to let her in. He’s seemed nervous lately. Betty has been trying not to dwell on it, trying not to let her worries crop up. Realistically, she knows they’re in love and they’re in a good place in their relationship. Maybe the best place they’ve been. But if they’ve never been better, then why does she feel like they’re standing still?

 

It was Veronica who first put the idea in her head.  _ If you want something done, you have to do it yourself, B. You can’t sit around waiting for the man to figure out what he wants. They never know what they want. _

 

There’s a file in her drafts on Tumblr, sitting there waiting to be posted at the perfect time, but she hasn’t found the courage in her to actually put it out there on the internet yet. It’s a poem and a letter in which she pours her entire heart out, all her love, all her worries, all her hopes and fears for her future with him, the man she loves so much she often forgets that all this started thanks to a few messages on a little blue app that she actively hates but won’t delete, especially now that it’s trying to self destruct.

 

It’s silly, she knows, that a website could mean so much to her. But it’s where she met Jughead and where she finally got the confidence to start pursuing her poetry as a real artform. That little lowercase “t” is associated with some of her favorite things, bad days and good. She’s made friends for life and met a boyfriend who loves her unconditionally. It only makes sense that she’s going to put another milestone up there.

 

That doesn’t make pressing the post button any easier, so she’s been avoiding it and ignoring even opening the app, letting her now dwindling queue do most of the work. Just as she’s about to finally bite the bullet, her thumb hovering just above the word “post,” she hears Jughead from the kitchen.

 

“Betts, are you on Tumblr?”

 

Is she that predictable?

 

“No.”

 

“Are you lying?” She can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s smirking and she wishes she could reach out and smack him for being so cocky, even though she finds it almost endearing how well they know each other.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good. I reblogged something for you earlier today, but I think Tumblr’s tagging is broken.”

 

“Is this another one of those outdated Spongebob memes that you still think is funny but no one else does?”

 

“You know they’re still funny, but no. It isn’t.”

 

There’s something suspicious in his insistence. Normally he’s not this much of a petulant child unless they’re cuddled up in bed, his feet are cold, and he feels like she’s been ignoring him all day long. There actually is a tag waiting for her, framed in purple text.

 

@donniedarkno has tagged you in The Truth of My Feelings and the Depths of My Soul.

 

Betty raises her eyebrows, confused by the words written on the screen. It isn’t a reblog. She can tell by the brooding and overdramatic title that this is straight from Jughead himself. When she first starts reading, it doesn’t seem real and before long she’s crying.

 

The Truth of My Feelings and the Depths of My Soul

 

Dear @minicooper,

 

Sometimes when I think about how much I love you I get absolutely overwhelmed. It’s like a sea of emotion has consumed me and I’ve forgotten how to breathe. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, about anything, this all encompassing devotion I have for you. I grew up convinced I would never know what it was like to love someone. I thought from an early age I was destined for isolation and loneliness.

 

But then a girl sent me a message and the world clicked into place. She didn’t say anything earthshaking, anything poetic, all she said was “thank you” because I’d done something nice for her and she was grateful for it. But at that first message I was hooked, and I never wanted that feeling to stop.

 

Our relationship evolved slowly at first. It was messages back and forth on a blue hellsite we both liked to mock. And then it was pictures. Photos. Words. Phone calls. Until, one day, I got to see you and I forgot what it was like to breathe.

 

When you came to visit me, I knew I would never want to be without you again. Even after meeting your dragon mother, I was still completely and utterly smitten. Everytime you look at me it’s like you can see into the depths of my soul. You read every subtle cue and it’s like you have me memorized.

 

These last few years, you have helped sculpt me into the best version of myself. The best version of J that has ever existed and will ever exist. I don’t know how to say thank you for that. I try to. I try to every day when I kiss you awake or actually remember to water the plants without you reminding me 100 times when you’re out of town. 

 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you. I love you, Betty, and I will never stop loving you. So if you could do me one favor and walk into the kitchen in the apartment we share and not look at me like a complete idiot while I’m on my knee in front of you holding a box that’s been tucked in my pocket for months, I would be grateful.

 

I hope you say “yes.”

 

But if you don’t, I’ll kindly ask that everyone wait to reblog until the answer comes out to spare me the humiliation of trying to delete this post and all copies of it that exist in the Tumblrverse.

 

Thank you for your time,

 

J

 

Hands shaking, Betty jumps to her feet, tossing her phone somewhere off in the distance with a terrifying clank before making her way to the kitchen. There were pictures of them lined up everywhere. A few were screenshots of some of their text conversations. The selfies Veronica had insisted they take at their first meeting. Lining the countertops were all the memories that they had shared together since the very first message she sent him, and she felt her heart beat nearly out of her chest at the sight of them.

 

“Juggie… you didn’t.”

 

He’s sitting there just like he said, on his knee with the ring box open. It’s a simple, shiny thing, a few diamonds on a gold band, but it’s so simply perfect she knows that it belongs to her. She tears up and drops to her knees before grabbing him by the face and pulling him into a kiss. He makes a surprised noise but follows her commands. 

 

“Yes,” she breathes against his skin. “God yes.”

 

Jughead slips the ring on her finger, hands shaking the entire time. They’re beaming at each other and he pulls out his phone to quickly alert the masses that she’s said “yes.”

 

“You’re never going to believe it.” Bety smiles from her comfortable position on his lap. 

 

“Believe what?”

 

“I had something equally as ridiculous planned.”

 

“You’re kidding.”

 

She opens her phone and pressed the publish button on her draft. It’s just as sappy, just as sweet, and just as ridiculous as his. She recounts their love story in a little more detail than he did, and of course she includes their first trip to Disneyland where he had nearly vomited after getting off the teacups because he and Archie were determined to get sick. It’s her version, but the emotions are just as raw and just as real.

 

Jughead cries even though he’s laughing. “Veronica and Archie are never going to let us live this one down. We proposed via Tumblr.”

 

“It makes sense. We did everything else that way, didn’t we?”

 

“Yeah, I guess we did.”

 

His phone is blowing up with notifications, but the first one he sees has a few hundred hearts and the words  _ I ship it _ followed by a gif. He presses reblog.

 

**donniedarkno:**

Yeah. Me too.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed <3 follow me on tumblr @tory-b, follow katie on tumblr @betty-cooper


End file.
